ODISHA
- Odisha government follows Centre with an eye on better fiscal planning
The state finance department has decided to come up with an annual fiscal strategy paper that will spell out revenue generation from possible sources as well as the government’s priorities in terms of expenditure in the coming years.
The Centre generally publishes a fiscal strategy paper before preparation of the annual budget. The state government, which aims to adopt such a move for the first time, expects that it would give a clear idea about possible generation of resources and priority areas so that it can make judicious budget allocations, said a senior finance department official acquainted with the development.
Though the finance department is yet to estimate the state’s earning from different sources for the 2020-21 financial year, it has listed out the priority areas for spending in the next fiscal.
The spending priorities of the government for the next financial year include piped drinking water, developing critical infrastructure like railways, roads, market-linked infrastructure, education, health assurance, skill development, livelihood, women empowerment and agriculture, including irrigation facilities.
As far as the flow of revenue generation is concerned, the government apprehends that the state’s share in central taxes may decrease because of the recent reduction in rate of corporate tax by the Union government.
In the current fiscal, the state has recorded a moderate 8.10 per cent growth in overall revenue collection by the end of September (second quarter).
Official data said revenue generation from non-tax sources like mining royalty, water tax and housing tax by end of September is pegged at Rs 6,186.48 crore, while earning from own tax sources like land revenue, stamp duty and registration, state excise, state GST, VAT and motor vehicle tax is estimated to be around Rs 15,055 crore.
To finance its annual budget, the state earns from sources like its own revenues from tax and non-tax sectors, shared tax from the Centre, grants-in-aid from the Centre under various centrally sponsored schemes and loans from various sources. This year’s the state government had presented a budget of Rs 1.39 lakh crore.
INTERNATIONAL
● Indians will No Longer Require Visas To Visit Brazil
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, the South American nation will drop its requirement that visiting Chinese and Indian tourists or businesspeople obtain visas.
Bolsonaro, a far-right politician, came to power at the beginning of the year and has made it a policy to reduce visa requirements from several developed countries.
The announcement, made during an official visit to China, is the first he has made expanding that policy to the developing world.
The Brazilian government ended visa requirements for tourists and business people from the United States, Canada, Japan, and Australia. Those countries, however, have not, in return, dropped their visa requirements for Brazilian citizens.
● BASIC countries urge developed nations to adhere to commitments under the Paris Agreement to fight climate change
BASIC countries have urged developed nations to adhere to the commitments made under the Paris Agreement and provide finance and technology to the developing world.
In a joint statement, the BASIC, a bloc of four large countries, Brazil, South Africa, India and China,
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